Denice

I have made  ten exterior murals so far.   You need have the size of mural you want to make and then a design that works with it to start.   Your design need to have small,  medium and large pieces in it and a flow of color and design that will encourage the viewers eyes to follow.   I have made terracotta and C6 stoneware clay murals,   using a cone 6 hand building  clay will give you the best results.   I see you live in PA and have a lot of freezing weather,  your clay needs to vitrified and your glaze has a perfect fix.   Any crackle in the glaze will allow water to leak in  and freeze popping the glaze off.  This is a good time of the year to make some test tiles and lay them outside and let the ice and snow.   I made a two foot mural and  mortared it on a cement board and placed it in the yard to see how it would hold up.  It survived the winter so I knew I was set to make more murals.  I wouldn't recommend making a mural for a horizontal surface after several years the weather takes it toll on it.   I have made two ext floor murals that were on  porches.  The tile was a purchased one inch porcelain tile that holds up freezing condition and epoxy grout.  It was the grout that didn't hold up,  it popped out of the grooves and molded.   I will be glad to answer any questions you have.       Denice

You will waste your time trying to get the bumps out.   Your time is better spent making a new tile,  you are a newbie each new piece will be better.    Before you do any firing you need to check the bottom of the shelf.   Has someone put kiln wash on it or does it have flakes of some exploded pot.   You can't use it safely again until it is ground and cleaned off,   it will damage anything fired below it.     Denice

You will waste your time trying to get the bumps out.   Your time is better spent making a new tile,  you are a newbie each new piece will be better.    Before you do any firing you need to check the bottom of the shelf.   Has someone put kiln wash on it or does it have flakes of some exploded pot.   You can't use it safely again until it is ground and cleaned off,   it will damage anything fired below it.     Denice

You will waste your time trying to get the bumps out.   Your time is better spent making a new tile,  you are a newbie each new piece will be better.    Before you do any firing you need to check the bottom of the shelf.   Has someone put kiln wash on it or does it have flakes of some exploded pot.   You can't use it safely again until it is ground and cleaned off,   it will damage anything fired below it.     Denice

When I was part of the Anazazi Research Group we were suppose to make brushes out of Yucca type plants.   You  had to chew on it to get the fine strings you needed.  The first yucca they decided to try was aloe vera,   I am allergic to aloe vera so I was excused from making a brush.   I tried using one that someone else had made,   Didn't go well,  I think something like a Century plant would work better.   Denice

When I was part of the Anazazi Research Group we were suppose to make brushes out of Yucca type plants.   You  had to chew on it to get the fine strings you needed.  The first yucca they decided to try was aloe vera,   I am allergic to aloe vera so I was excused from making a brush.   I tried using one that someone else had made,   Didn't go well,  I think something like a Century plant would work better.   Denice

When I was part of the Anazazi Research Group we were suppose to make brushes out of Yucca type plants.   You  had to chew on it to get the fine strings you needed.  The first yucca they decided to try was aloe vera,   I am allergic to aloe vera so I was excused from making a brush.   I tried using one that someone else had made,   Didn't go well,  I think something like a Century plant would work better.   Denice

I don't think you have been working in a dusty atmosphere long enough to do much damage.    When I started taking ceramic classes in the early 1970's  no one wore masks or gloves and the professors never talked about them and silicosis.  The studio was in a old football stadium from the early 1900s,  no windows,  no heat or air conditioning.   When clay was being mixed you couldn't even see there was so much dust.   Huge gas kilns were fired right next doors to the throwing room.   Most students weren't there eight hours a day like clay workers,  I am 71 and still here and don't have any lung problems and have been around other silicosis situations.   I worked as a dental technician for 6 year,  had exposure to different kinds of dust.   I live in Kansas wind and dust storms quite common.  I take all of the precautions in my studio now and have for years once I found out it was a problem.   You could have a doctor check things like your breathing capacity.  I have Multiple Sclerosis because of bad genes,  I always felt bad that everyone had to slow down for me.   Now that everyone is in there 70's they all have health problems and they are just as slow as I am.  You can't live your life in fear of what might happen,  you don't know  long your life will be.  We had a young friend killed a couple of years ago walking into work.  He was on his cellphone the guy who ran over him was on his cellphone.    You never know.     Denice

I don't think you have been working in a dusty atmosphere long enough to do much damage.    When I started taking ceramic classes in the early 1970's  no one wore masks or gloves and the professors never talked about them and silicosis.  The studio was in a old football stadium from the early 1900s,  no windows,  no heat or air conditioning.   When clay was being mixed you couldn't even see there was so much dust.   Huge gas kilns were fired right next doors to the throwing room.   Most students weren't there eight hours a day like clay workers,  I am 71 and still here and don't have any lung problems and have been around other silicosis situations.   I worked as a dental technician for 6 year,  had exposure to different kinds of dust.   I live in Kansas wind and dust storms quite common.  I take all of the precautions in my studio now and have for years once I found out it was a problem.   You could have a doctor check things like your breathing capacity.  I have Multiple Sclerosis because of bad genes,  I always felt bad that everyone had to slow down for me.   Now that everyone is in there 70's they all have health problems and they are just as slow as I am.  You can't live your life in fear of what might happen,  you don't know  long your life will be.  We had a young friend killed a couple of years ago walking into work.  He was on his cellphone the guy who ran over him was on his cellphone.    You never know.     Denice

I don't think you have been working in a dusty atmosphere long enough to do much damage.    When I started taking ceramic classes in the early 1970's  no one wore masks or gloves and the professors never talked about them and silicosis.  The studio was in a old football stadium from the early 1900s,  no windows,  no heat or air conditioning.   When clay was being mixed you couldn't even see there was so much dust.   Huge gas kilns were fired right next doors to the throwing room.   Most students weren't there eight hours a day like clay workers,  I am 71 and still here and don't have any lung problems and have been around other silicosis situations.   I worked as a dental technician for 6 year,  had exposure to different kinds of dust.   I live in Kansas wind and dust storms quite common.  I take all of the precautions in my studio now and have for years once I found out it was a problem.   You could have a doctor check things like your breathing capacity.  I have Multiple Sclerosis because of bad genes,  I always felt bad that everyone had to slow down for me.   Now that everyone is in there 70's they all have health problems and they are just as slow as I am.  You can't live your life in fear of what might happen,  you don't know  long your life will be.  We had a young friend killed a couple of years ago walking into work.  He was on his cellphone the guy who ran over him was on his cellphone.    You never know.     Denice

I don't think you have been working in a dusty atmosphere long enough to do much damage.    When I started taking ceramic classes in the early 1970's  no one wore masks or gloves and the professors never talked about them and silicosis.  The studio was in a old football stadium from the early 1900s,  no windows,  no heat or air conditioning.   When clay was being mixed you couldn't even see there was so much dust.   Huge gas kilns were fired right next doors to the throwing room.   Most students weren't there eight hours a day like clay workers,  I am 71 and still here and don't have any lung problems and have been around other silicosis situations.   I worked as a dental technician for 6 year,  had exposure to different kinds of dust.   I live in Kansas wind and dust storms quite common.  I take all of the precautions in my studio now and have for years once I found out it was a problem.   You could have a doctor check things like your breathing capacity.  I have Multiple Sclerosis because of bad genes,  I always felt bad that everyone had to slow down for me.   Now that everyone is in there 70's they all have health problems and they are just as slow as I am.  You can't live your life in fear of what might happen,  you don't know  long your life will be.  We had a young friend killed a couple of years ago walking into work.  He was on his cellphone the guy who ran over him was on his cellphone.    You never know.     Denice

I don't think you have been working in a dusty atmosphere long enough to do much damage.    When I started taking ceramic classes in the early 1970's  no one wore masks or gloves and the professors never talked about them and silicosis.  The studio was in a old football stadium from the early 1900s,  no windows,  no heat or air conditioning.   When clay was being mixed you couldn't even see there was so much dust.   Huge gas kilns were fired right next doors to the throwing room.   Most students weren't there eight hours a day like clay workers,  I am 71 and still here and don't have any lung problems and have been around other silicosis situations.   I worked as a dental technician for 6 year,  had exposure to different kinds of dust.   I live in Kansas wind and dust storms quite common.  I take all of the precautions in my studio now and have for years once I found out it was a problem.   You could have a doctor check things like your breathing capacity.  I have Multiple Sclerosis because of bad genes,  I always felt bad that everyone had to slow down for me.   Now that everyone is in there 70's they all have health problems and they are just as slow as I am.  You can't live your life in fear of what might happen,  you don't know  long your life will be.  We had a young friend killed a couple of years ago walking into work.  He was on his cellphone the guy who ran over him was on his cellphone.    You never know.     Denice

Nothing is more irritating than someone asking me if they spent several hours in my studio would I teach them how to make tile.    I have made thousands of tiles over the last  20 years and feel like I will never know everything about tiles.  I have been a potter since I was 11 years old and fell in love with clay.   I just turned 71 in October  getting ready to head out to my studio,  still a potter.  Denice

Nothing is more irritating than someone asking me if they spent several hours in my studio would I teach them how to make tile.    I have made thousands of tiles over the last  20 years and feel like I will never know everything about tiles.  I have been a potter since I was 11 years old and fell in love with clay.   I just turned 71 in October  getting ready to head out to my studio,  still a potter.  Denice

To get started I would enroll in a studio ceramic's  class,  this will give you the basic knowledge and you can decide if this is a area you want to pursue.   I decided to take a stone carving class,  after a solid day of chipping I decided I had enough of stone carving.    I  managed to finish my piece,  it made a nice door stop.     Denice

To get started I would enroll in a studio ceramic's  class,  this will give you the basic knowledge and you can decide if this is a area you want to pursue.   I decided to take a stone carving class,  after a solid day of chipping I decided I had enough of stone carving.    I  managed to finish my piece,  it made a nice door stop.     Denice

I was also pretty lucky with my high school's art program.  My clay work was all slab and coil,  we only had one wheel and the teacher would pick one boy to use it in each class.   The  other art classes worked with acrylic for jewelry,  yarn for large hanging rugs, weaving and  metal  enameling.   We also made large wood sculptures.  The school also had a drawing and painting classes.  When I  was 18,  I worked as a dental lab technician,  everyone who made teeth were artistic.   If you looked in the lab during the lunch hour you would find half of the lab workers  making rings and pendants.   Had all of the  waxing, casting and grinding equipment all you had to supply was the silver or gold.  College had larger equipment and space,  you could create larger sculptural work.   I learned to weld in sculpture class,  my teacher said I laid a good weld line but I never really liked welding.  I would peel off to different arts for a while but always came back to clay,  it made me  feel good.     Denice

I was also pretty lucky with my high school's art program.  My clay work was all slab and coil,  we only had one wheel and the teacher would pick one boy to use it in each class.   The  other art classes worked with acrylic for jewelry,  yarn for large hanging rugs, weaving and  metal  enameling.   We also made large wood sculptures.  The school also had a drawing and painting classes.  When I  was 18,  I worked as a dental lab technician,  everyone who made teeth were artistic.   If you looked in the lab during the lunch hour you would find half of the lab workers  making rings and pendants.   Had all of the  waxing, casting and grinding equipment all you had to supply was the silver or gold.  College had larger equipment and space,  you could create larger sculptural work.   I learned to weld in sculpture class,  my teacher said I laid a good weld line but I never really liked welding.  I would peel off to different arts for a while but always came back to clay,  it made me  feel good.     Denice

To get started I would enroll in a studio ceramic's  class,  this will give you the basic knowledge and you can decide if this is a area you want to pursue.   I decided to take a stone carving class,  after a solid day of chipping I decided I had enough of stone carving.    I  managed to finish my piece,  it made a nice door stop.     Denice

To get started I would enroll in a studio ceramic's  class,  this will give you the basic knowledge and you can decide if this is a area you want to pursue.   I decided to take a stone carving class,  after a solid day of chipping I decided I had enough of stone carving.    I  managed to finish my piece,  it made a nice door stop.     Denice

To get started I would enroll in a studio ceramic's  class,  this will give you the basic knowledge and you can decide if this is a area you want to pursue.   I decided to take a stone carving class,  after a solid day of chipping I decided I had enough of stone carving.    I  managed to finish my piece,  it made a nice door stop.     Denice

My first day of throwing the professor came in and explained what the class would cover.  At the end of his speech he said that if anyone had taken the class to make a set of dishes they might as well leave now.  He told us that it would take years of throwing before we could make a set.   After he finished three women stood up and left the room.  his way of pulling out the weeds.  I made a set of dishes about 15 years ago just to see if I could.   We are still using them but the glaze is getting a little hazy.    Denice

Do you have any kick wheels in your class room,   I have always thought you could develop good throwing skills on a kick wheel.  I had one until I was 68,  I  was old and have MS and my legs weren't as strong.   Marc found a Brent for me on ebay that was local, it works but I still miss the magic of the kick wheel.       Denice

If these new potters had to help make the clay they are using they would learn to be conservative.   I made my own clay,  they came out with bagged clay but it was too expensive.   When I finally got to college everyone had to help make clay,  build kilns, unload kilns and clean the studio.   My first throwing class the professor told  us we were there to learn how to throw.   We could only fire three small pieces and they were for grading purposes.   He also to us not to sign our pots,  you want to save that for when you make good  work.   He told us to think about some of your first pots being found in archaelogical dig with your name on it.  Fired clay last forever.  is your pot is worthy of firing.   You had to be in advance throwing classes before you could accumulate much work.   I  decided to focus on hand building.  When I was a senior  the college was looking into bagged clay,  they gave a bag to each student and told them to give it a try.   I was given a bag of b-mix,  I told them it wouldn't work for hand building,  it didn't.   To me the bagged clay was a sign of the ceramic program sliding downhill,  it wouldn't  be the great program it once was.   This was in the hippie days and natural hippies were into  reuse,  no waste,   recycle,  make everything yourself and work hard.  I was glad I managed to graduate before it got worse.   Denice

I was also pretty lucky with my high school's art program.  My clay work was all slab and coil,  we only had one wheel and the teacher would pick one boy to use it in each class.   The  other art classes worked with acrylic for jewelry,  yarn for large hanging rugs, weaving and  metal  enameling.   We also made large wood sculptures.  The school also had a drawing and painting classes.  When I  was 18,  I worked as a dental lab technician,  everyone who made teeth were artistic.   If you looked in the lab during the lunch hour you would find half of the lab workers  making rings and pendants.   Had all of the  waxing, casting and grinding equipment all you had to supply was the silver or gold.  College had larger equipment and space,  you could create larger sculptural work.   I learned to weld in sculpture class,  my teacher said I laid a good weld line but I never really liked welding.  I would peel off to different arts for a while but always came back to clay,  it made me  feel good.     Denice